


Tattoo

by VortexOfEntertainment



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-01 00:34:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13986642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VortexOfEntertainment/pseuds/VortexOfEntertainment
Summary: Beca doesn't remember getting a tattoo the night before, so imagine her surprise when she discovers a tiny little sunshine on her body.





	1. Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! This is my first attempt at fanfiction. I do creative writing, but nothing like this before. I've never used characters that I did not create or from a franchise such as Pitch Perfect. So please, be gentle:)

The hot water that pelts her skin feels a little bit like heaven. Her body aches from the wild night she and the Bellas had the night before. She really only remembers dancing with Chloe before everything gets a little fuzzy or black altogether.

Beca rolls her head from one side to the other, stretching out her neck to feel the pull of her muscles. Why the hell was she so sore?

She lifts her arms over her head and feels a particularly sharp pain just under her left breast. She looks down, eyes widening, at the familiar sight of gauze taped over her skin.

 _I didn’t_ , she thinks as she quickly jumps out of the shower.

She cuts the water and grabs her towel as she hastily dries herself off. Her body protests with aches and pains in places she didn’t even know could be sore. Before she could chicken out, Beca rips the gauze off of her skin (and holy _SHIT_ that was a bad idea. _Ow_ ).

She stares at the foreign tattoo that is now a part of her body forever. It’s a tiny sunshine. A sunshine? Really?

_What the fuck?_

Beca racks her brain for any thoughts or memories of getting a tattoo the night before. She remembers Chloe, their bodies pressing together, their hands wandering wherever they pleased, the inappropriate thoughts that filled Beca’s mind about her very best friend.

“CHLOE!” Beca yells suddenly. If there’s anyone that knew what was going on, it would be her redheaded companion.

“Yes,” Chloe cheerily replies almost immediately, sticking her head into the bathroom where Beca is now standing only in her panties while holding a towel over her breasts. Her breath catches in her throat for a second as the sight. She tries not to let her eyes linger too long on the brunettes stomach and bare legs.

“What the hell is this?” Beca asks, turning around. She holds the towel up just enough for Chloe to see the subject of her question.

“Looks like a sunshine, Becs,” Chloe answers with the tilt of her head. She fights back a smile as she pretends to study the ink. She takes a step closer, squinting her eyes and bending down just slightly as if trying to get a better look. “Yep, last I checked that is a sun,” she grins as she looks back up to meet stormy blue eyes.

“Not funny, dude!” Beca practically yells. “I don’t even remember getting this!”

Chloe’s heart sinks at the words. She thought she and Beca had finally made progress last night. Their dancing had led to touching, which led to confessions being made, which eventually (she’s still not really sure how) led to Beca getting a sunshine tattoo on her body to represent Chloe.

“What do you remember exactly?” Chloe asks tentatively, biting her bottom lip in anticipation.

Beca’s eyebrows furrow as she thinks. “Um, I remember dancing,” she nods. “And that’s about it.”

“Nothing after that?”

“Nope,” Beca shakes her head. “Why? Did something happen?”

Her question catches Chloe off guard. Did she detect hopefulness in Beca’s voice? Could she possibly feel the same way? She definitely did last night, but Chloe was starting to believe that was just the alcohol.

“Um,” Chloe says in a high pitched voice, somewhat mimicking Fat Amy. She couldn’t think of what to say.

“Chlo.” Beca is desperate. She wants to know what has Chloe so caught up. Usually, the redhead is open and talkative. Did she do something to scare Chloe off? Did she say something that she meant maybe a little too much? “Just tell me,” she adds softly.

The redhead looks at her friend and the way her eyes meet what resembles the dark ocean. She remembers the way they almost kissed the night before, and her heart starts to flutter uncontrollably.

Beca’s lips are slightly parted as she searches those bright blue orbs for any sign of what Chloe might say next. She tries to remember something, anything. She felt as if she was missing something huge. Something that could change her life forever.

Chloe finds herself leaning forward just slightly and is surprised when Beca does the same. Maybe she meant the things she said the night before. Maybe it wasn’t the alcohol.

“SHAW-SHANK!” Fat Amy yells from outside the bathroom. Both girls jump away from each other. Beca momentarily drops her towel and curses as she scrambles to grab it.

Chloe manages to pull her eyes away from Beca and look up at the ceiling as she gnaws on her bottom lip. She could feel her heart pounding and heat rush through her body at the sight.

“Fucking shit,” Beca mumbles as she finally gets her towel situated. “WHAT?” she yells back angrily.

“You’re going to need to hurry up in there unless you want me to make a mess out here,” Fat Amy calls back. “I need to see a man about a dingo.”

“Jesus Christ,” Beca huffs as she looks around for her top.

Chloe stands perfectly still as she watches the brunette fumble around the bathroom. She seems rooted to her spot. Mind reeling from the few moments before Amy interrupted them. Was Beca really going to kiss her back?

“Are you coming?” Beca asks as she finally opens the door.

Chloe snaps out of her thoughts with a smile and nods as she follows Beca out of the bathroom. They go to their separate rooms, Beca clearly not wanting to question the redhead about the night before any further.

Beca slams the door to her bedroom shut and runs her fingers through her hair. She closes her eyes tightly as she tries to remember.

Chloe, on the other hand, closes the door to her bedroom quietly. She walks over to the full-length mirror in the corner of her room and pulls her shirt up to look at the rain cloud she had tattooed in the same spot Beca had a sunshine.


	2. The Night Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How did Beca and Chloe find themselves in a tattoo parlor? Well, your guess is as good as theirs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all the positive feedback from the first chapter! I hope this second chapter is what you guys are hoping for! I can't promise I'll always crank out new content this fast.. but I was just so excited. Please, continue to leave feedback!

**Chapter Two (The Night Before)**

_It should be illegal for her to dance that way._

That’s all Beca can think as she watches Chloe move on the dance floor. Her body rolls with the music in a way that makes Beca appreciate the art so much more. When Chloe lets her hands run up to her red hair, Beca is sure she’s going to combust on the spot. She can feel something deep inside of her pulling her towards the beautiful girl on the dance floor, but her pesky brain is holding her back.

She turns around quickly to ask for another drink. She’s far too sober to deal with these emotions. The bartender hands her the shot she’s ordered and before he can walk away, Beca has downed it and asks for another one.

“You should slow it down a little, shorty,” Amy says from behind the brunette.

Beca promptly ignores her as her fingers drum on the hardwood of the bar. _Like I Do_ by David Guetta is blaring over the speakers, causing the club to thump just a little louder.

“Becs!” Chloe yells over the music. She lets her hands fall on her friend’s arms as she leans around her to steal the shot the bartender sits down in front of Beca. “Come dance with me!” she grins, downing the drink. The burn in her throat makes her shake her head a bit.

“You’ll never get me out there if you keep stealing my drinks,” Beca answers smoothly in her usual deadpan way. She’s not sure where the confidence comes from. Maybe Amy was right about needing to slow down.

“Oh, come on!” Chloe whines, pulling on Beca’s arm. “Dance with me!”

Beca could see that the redhead was a little drunker than she was, but she couldn’t say no to Chloe. Never has been able to, really. There’s just something about the way her bright blue eyes look at Beca that makes her weak.

“Fine,” Beca mumbles. “Just let me—” before she can finish her sentence, Chloe grabs her hand and pulls her to the dance floor.

Beca’s anxiety heightens as she’s pulled into the crowd. She doesn’t like to be among a lot of people. She prefers solitude. But when Chloe starts to dance extremely close to her, Beca calms down considerably and becomes more anxious (or maybe eager?) about the girl grinding against her.

Before she knows what she’s doing, Beca feels her hands wrap around Chloe’s waist. She pulls the girl closer to her, if that’s even possible, and begins to match her moves. Chloe’s so close now, that her lips are next to Beca’s ear. Beca can not only hear Chloe’s breathing but feel it’s warmth.

Chloe can feel her heart pounding along with the techno beat that’s now filling the club. It’s like with every move, her mind gets a little hazier. The drinks she’s consumed don’t help, but she’s finding it hard to focus on anything but Beca’s hands gripping her tightly. The way their bodies move against one another’s is hypnotizing.

She can’t stop herself from lifting her arms and draping them over Beca’s shoulders. She feels Beca’s hips nudge hers and the heat that builds up is beyond anything she’s ever felt. Her mind is reeling from the thoughts that suddenly flood it. She has to push them down to keep from doing something that might scare the brunette away.

When _Core_ by RL Grime came on, Chloe quickly turns and backs up to Beca. Beca lets her hands drift down to Chloe’s hips to let them move along with the beat and the redhead. She instinctively pulls Chloe closer.

Beca’s breath catches in her throat as the beat drops and so does Chloe. She winds her way back up slowly, making sure to touch as much of Beca as possible before reaching behind her and tangling her fingers in the brunette’s hair. She grinds her backside into the brunette’s hips, thinking that maybe Beca would pull away at any second. She’s happily surprised when Beca does quite the opposite.

The brunette’s hands wander down and rest on Chloe’s bare thigh. Her little black dress had ridden up when she dropped it low, but Chloe is beyond caring whether or not it needs adjusting.

They dance until their feet feel like they were going to fall off. Then, they make their way back to the bar where Beca has far more drinks than Chloe, but Chloe is still pretty drunk herself. They had both lost track of Amy while dancing, knowing their friend was somewhere probably getting into her own trouble.

Beca and Chloe are now sitting in a booth, both on the same side so they could be closer to one another (although neither will admit that’s the reason). Beca’s fingers are ghosting over Chloe’s arm, sending chills down the redhead’s spine. Beca stops at the ladybug tattoo on her wrist and circles is.

“We should get tattoos!” Beca says loudly as she grabs her drink. It’s a colorful drink. One that Beca usually wouldn’t be caught dead with, Chloe thinks.

Beca isn’t sure where the idea comes from, but she immediately loves it. She’s been wanting a new tattoo anyway. Why not get one with your best friend?

Chloe means to say that getting a tattoo when they’re both so drunk is probably not the best idea, but instead, the words come out as an excited, “YAS,”

Beca chuckles and grabs Chloe’s hand, dragging her out of the booth. “Come on! I know a place just down the street!”

Chloe follows Beca. _Of course she does,_ Chloe thinks. Although Chloe is fairly certain Beca hadn’t gotten any tattoos since the two had moved to New York with Amy, it doesn’t surprise her that Beca has connections in weird places.

The two find their way to a somewhat shady looking tattoo parlor, but Beca calls the man “Dano” and he seems delighted to see her.

“What can I do for you two lovely ladies?” the burly man asks. Chloe smirks at the way he fits the stereotypical bill of a tattoo artist. She quickly shakes the thought from her mind because that’s not right. She doesn’t like to stereotype anybody.

“Um,” Beca looks at Chloe. She seems sober enough, but Chloe can see the telltale signs of a drunk Beca. The fact that Beca is openly holding her hand, fingers entwined, pulling Chloe closer, should tell Chloe maybe this isn’t a great idea.

Before she can protest, Beca’s face lights up and she turns back to Dano. “I want a sunshine!” she says brilliantly.

“Wait, what?” Chloe asks, clearly confused by the brunette’s words. A sunshine is the LAST thing she expected Beca to say. It was so... well, not her.

“Sunshine, you’re sunshine,” Beca says, slurring her words just a little. “I want sunshine on my body.”

Chloe’s heart drops into her stomach at the compliment, but it’s quickly back and off to the races.

Beca can’t believe she just said those words out loud. She didn’t mean to. She meant every word, but she would have preferred to keep them to herself. It was a little embarrassing.

Chloe’s smile puts her at ease though as she keeps her eyes trained on the baby blues looking back at her.

“What’s the opposite of sunshine?” Beca asks, furrowing her brow and looking back at Dano for help. Her mind is too muddled to figure it out.

“Rain,” Dano answers with a nod. Beca can see that he’s maybe two seconds away from denying them a tattoo. They are pretty wasted after all.

“You’ll get a rain cloud!” Beca says excitedly to Chloe. It all made sense now, at least to her. “I’ll get the sunshine because you’re my sunshine. Then, you get rain cloud because I’m your rain cloud.”

Although Chloe understood the sentiment, it was nice to hear Beca explain it. It did nothing to calm her racing heart or raging emotions. She squeezes Beca’s hand just a bit before turning to Dano with an enormous grin.

“One rain cloud, please!” she chirps, and she can see Beca smile in her peripheral vision.

“Are you two sure—”

“Yes. Now sunshine me, Dano!” Beca says loudly and with a wave of her pointer finger. Suddenly, it dawns on her that she doesn’t know _where_ to get the tattoo. “WAIT!”

Chloe jumps a bit at the sudden outburst and looks at Beca nervously. Had she chickened out? Did she see how absurd this would be to her in the morning? Because contrary to the alcohol in her system, Chloe felt very sober and knew she’d remember every detail come morning. She had a feeling she would have to explain it all to her friend, however.

“You pick where we put them,” Beca says turning back to Chloe.

Chloe knows she is expecting her to say something like “ankle” or “wrist” or maybe even “shoulder.” But she and Beca already had tattoos in two of those places.

She chews on her bottom lip as she lets her eyes rake up and down Beca’s body. Beca cocks an eyebrow and lets her mouth open as she follows Chloe’s eyes with her own. She’s starting to regret the decision to let the redhead decide.

Finally, a goofy smirk breaks out over Chloe’s face as her eyes meet Beca’s again. Beca’s facial expression resembles something like a deer in headlights.

“Take off your shirt,” Chloe grins and Beca definitely regrets the decision to let her choose.

 


	3. Feels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Beca get their tattoos and everything changes. Feelings are confessed, barriers are broken, and the two best friends can't possibly go back now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I have decided that three won't be the end of this fic. I realized that so much more needed to happen after chapter two takes place and chapter one picks up. Also, to the person I told chapter three would reveal more sober feelings, I'm sorry for technically lying! I started writing and realized that maybe that will happen in chapter four. So, I hope you hold on until then!

“I can’t believe we didn’t do this sooner,” Beca says as she watches Dano permanently mark her body with a sunshine. It was cute and tiny. Something she never thought she’d get, but then again, she never thought she’d fall in love with someone like Chloe.

Chloe, however, knew the first time she saw Beca that she was done for. She watched the brunette grow and flourish in college. It was a beautiful thing, really.

Now, she watches her best friend as she gets something that represents her, Chloe Beale, tattooed on her body in a place Chloe thought was perfect.

She chose just under Beca’s left breast because she thought it was as close to her heart as she could get without outright saying, “over your heart”, because she was afraid that would be too much for her friend. It would scare her away from the idea completely, and Chloe _loved_ this idea.

If Beca wasn’t going to love her back, then by God Chloe was going to get as close to touching the brunette’s heart as possible.

It wasn’t exactly over Beca’s heart. It was under her left boob and skewing a little more towards her ribs than Chloe would have hoped. She couldn’t exactly blurt out that she wanted the symbol that represented her to be in the center of Beca’s chest. No matter how she reasoned it, that just seemed a little absurd. So, she settled. She settled like she had been with everything else that involved Beca for the past five years.

She settled for being Beca’s best friend. She settled on being one of Beca’s two roommates. She settled for only getting to touch Beca in the most platonic ways possible (not including when Beca was drunk or sad and let Chloe cuddle her). Settling was something Chloe was getting good at. It was also something she was growing tired of.

She could only smile in response to Beca’s comment now. Her own shirt was up as another artist worked on her, and she had her left arm stretched up above her head. The stinging of the needle was dulled a little by what alcohol she still had in her system, but her mind felt so sober. She couldn’t stop going over the possible scenarios that would play out in the morning.

_Surely Beca will remember this._

_Should I have stopped it?_

_Was this a mistake?_

_Oh, God. I feel so stupid._

The tears prickling her eyes threatened to fall down her cheek. She was overthinking everything. She hated when she got trapped in her own mind.

“Hey, are you okay? Does it hurt too much?” Beca asks in a very concerned voice. Seeing Chloe cry was probably her least favorite thing in the entire world.

“No, I’m okay,” Chloe smiles. She turns her head so she’s looking directly at Beca instead of up at the ceiling.

The tears make her eyes glisten and if it’s possible, they’re even bluer than Beca remembers.

“God, you’re beautiful,” Beca thinks. Except she didn’t think it. She said it.

Her eyes widen at the words that just slipped past her lips. Damn the alcohol that was making her innermost thoughts become, well, outermost thoughts.

Chloe just smiles. Well, it’s more of a hurting smile. It’s not brilliant like the others Beca has received, and that confuses her.

Beca furrows her brow when Chloe just shakes her head and looks back up at the ceiling. The redhead bites her lower lip and blinks, finally causing the tears to roll down her temple. Beca refuses to take her eyes off of her friend. Something was wrong.

Now she knows. Chloe knows she’s messed up. Beca would never say something like that if she was even the tiniest bit sober. Wait. Let her rephrase that. Beca would never say something like that _in that way_ if she was the tiniest bit sober.

The way Beca sometimes looks at her when she’s drunk or thinks Chloe isn’t paying attention, sometimes makes the redhead think that her feelings are reciprocated. But then Jesse (or some other guy since Beca and Jesse broke up) shows up, or she shy’s away from Chloe’s touch, and Chloe is reminded that they’re only friends.

Once their tattoos are done and they’re bandaged up, Dano gives them the rundown. They both know how to take care of new ink, but still, Chloe listens intently because she can’t bear to look at Beca right now.  

“Did I say something wrong?” Beca asks once they’re walking down the sidewalk towards their apartment. She has managed to walk in a relatively straight line. She’s hesitant to reach out and take Chloe’s arm for support though because clearly, her friend is upset.

Chloe puts on her best smile and looks at Beca with furrowed brows. “Of course not,” she answers. Her voice betrays her though and cracks just a bit. She coughs, trying to cover it up and clear her throat of the huge lump that’s formed at the same time.  

“No, I did. What did I say?” Beca asks. She stops walking and grabs Chloe’s hand to make her stop, too. “Chlo, please.”

Chloe looks down at her hand in Beca’s and pulls it away. She opens her mouth to say something, but that pesky lump is still there, and she’s scared.

All of her feelings were coming to the surface. She had buried them deep down, so deep that she thought for a millisecond that they were gone.

Boy, she was so wrong. If anything, they were stronger.

She finally looks up at her friend. Beca’s brown hair was up in a high ponytail now (she started the evening with it down, but she had quickly tied it up before getting the tattoo so "it wouldn't get in the way." It didn't make sense to Chloe since there was no possible way her hair _could_ get in the way, but she didn't question it. It actually made her look hotter). She was wearing a little black dress with a blue jacket on over it that was just a little lighter than her eyes. Her makeup was fixed to perfection and just how Chloe likes it. Her lips were slightly parted, and all Chloe could think was how inviting they looked.

“I really like you, Becs,” Chloe says finally. “Actually, I’m pretty certain that I love you.”

Her heart’s pounding and her brain is telling her that she needs to stop. This was not the right time, but she couldn’t help it. If she held anything else in, she was sure she would break. She had felt the cracks grow bigger and bigger over the years, but the way Beca was looking at her now, the way Beca had told her that she was the sun, it was too much.

Beca is shocked. She’s sure she’s misheard Chloe because there’s no way Chloe _fucking_ Beale has feelings for her.

“What?” Beca finally manages to ask. It’s not entirely what she means to say, but it will suffice. Because she needs to hear Chloe say it again.

“Nothing, It’s stupid.” Chloe shakes her head. Maybe it was best that Beca didn’t hear her. “I shouldn’t have said anything.” She turns to walk away, but Beca grabs Chloe’s hand again and pulls her back.

“Say it again,” Beca says breathlessly. She _really_ needs to make sure she heard Chloe correctly.

Chloe searches those navy-blue eyes and finds herself feeling hopeful. Was it finally happening? The moment she’s dreamt about for years, was it finally here?

“I love you, Becs,” she says quietly. She knows now that Beca heard her because the brunette is smiling.

Beca lets her free hand move to cup Chloe’s cheek. She tugs the redhead forward and rises up on her tiptoes (because even though she’s wearing heels, Chloe is too and is therefore still a bit taller).

They pause, just centimeters from their lips finally meeting, to just take a moment. Chloe’s eyes are closed, anticipating the kiss she’s dreamt about for years. Her breathing is somewhat short, and her heart was pounding even hard if that’s possible. She was sure it would jump right out of her chest. She could feel Beca’s breathe tickle her lips. She could smell the alcohol that she was afraid would ruin it all.

Beca studies Chloe’s face up close, closer than she had ever really been she thinks. The freckles that dot her skin are somewhat covered by makeup, but they’re beautiful. Everything about Chloe is stunning. She can’t believe that she’s about to do what she’s going to do, but she couldn’t stop herself. She had yearned for it for far too long.

Finally, Beca closes her eyes and the distance between their lips. She swears to God she sees fireworks behind her closed eyelids. If she doesn’t see them, then she definitely feels them. Every nerve in her body is on high alert, yet dull to focus solely on the ones that are touching Chloe. Her world tilts, but Chloe’s hands on her hips steady her. She boldly reaching up and wraps both of her arms around Chloe's neck, pulling her impossibly closer. 

Her lips are soft, softer than Chloe could have ever imagined. Her kiss is slow and meaningful, causing Chloe’s beating heart to almost stop completely. A wave a calmness washes over her. The worry she felt earlier disappears entirely. A sense of purpose fills its place and she’s never felt more at home than in that moment.

Beca is the one that pulls away far too soon. Chloe searches her face for the impending freakout, but only sees her friends signature smirk. That damn smirk that only makes her fall more in love with her best friend every time she receives it.

Her eyes are still closed, and her hands travel down Chloe's arms until she bunches the material of Chloe's colorful dress in her hand around her hips. She finally opens her eyes and meets icy blues staring back at her intently. She's never seen so much intimacy in Chloe's eyes. It was breathtaking. 

Chloe’s mind fills with thoughts. Good thoughts, until the very last thing that occurs to her and brings her world to a crashing halt.

_I might die if she doesn’t remember this tomorrow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter while listening to Brittany Snow's 'Feels that pay the bills' playlist on Spotify and let me tell you, I WAS NOT PREPARED


	4. Struggle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a few things I want to say before this chapter:  
> 1.) The first tweet from Beca is an actual tweet from Anna Kendrick at some point.  
> 2.) I tried to come up with twitter names that I hadn't heard someone else use before, but if I failed and someone has used the usernames in the past then I'm sorry! I'll change it if you'd like.  
> 3.) There are some inaccuracies. I put in the second chapter that they were dancing to a relatively new David Guetta song, but this story (in my head) takes place in Atlanta, sometime between PP2 and PP3 before the girls move to New York but after they graduate. 
> 
> Just wanted to clear some of that up! I hope it doesn't make things confusing or takes away from the story.

Beca paces around her room with her hands tangled in her hair just above her forehead. She was sure her thoughts were going to explode right out of her skull. How could she not remember the night before? She was so sure that she hadn’t gone that overboard with the drinking. But then again, maybe she had.

She stops in front of her mirror and lifts her shirt back up. She studies the tattoo and winces as she runs her finger over it lightly. She probably should have been more careful after discovering it instead of lifting and dropping her arms repeatedly in an attempt to wrack her mind for the memories.

It was like they were right there. She could feel them taunting her, just out of her reach as all she saw was blackness.

* * *

 

Chloe plops down on her bed, defeated.

 _Of course_ , she thinks, _it was all just too perfect for Beca to remember._

She falls back, her body bouncing once with the force she put behind it, and she stares up at the ceiling. Her foot wiggles and she lets her hands fall on her stomach as she spins the ring around on her left thumb. She worries her bottom lip. Anyone that knew her would be able to see that she was deep in thought.

But no one was there, and no one besides her knew what she was deep in thought about. Her eyes dart around as if trying to keep up with the thoughts she was having. It was like they were broadcasted in front of her and she had to read quickly to absorb them all.

_Maybe it’s for the best._

_SHE kissed ME._

_Does she really feel the same way?_

_What if I just tell her again?_

_I hate this._

She sits up quickly and hops off the bed, unable to sit still – semi-still – any longer. She paces her room, walking one way then turning on her heels to walk quickly in the other direction. If it was possible to walk an actual rut into the floor, she’s sure she would have done it by now.

She needed a distraction. Something to take her mind of the fact that she finally kissed the girl of her dreams and said girl does not even remember it. She told her that she loved her.

Chloe was sure she was going to go crazy.

Instead, she decides she needs to get out of there. To leave the apartment, leave the city if possible, and just reboot. She needed to escape.

* * *

 

Beca remembers Chloe being upset. She remembers looking at the redhead while sitting in the chair as Dano ran a needle over her skin as he drew the sunshine.

At first, she thought Chloe was crying because getting a tattoo isn’t exactly comfortable, but then her friend had looked at her, had given her a teary smile, and Beca knew something was wrong. She had done something to upset Chloe.

“Oh God,” Beca mumbles as she stops pacing. She closes her eyes tightly and tries to think.

Did she ever find out why Chloe was upset? She’s sure the redhead would have told her if Beca had asked, but Beca doesn’t remember asking. 

“Come on, come on, come on…” Beca mumbles under her breath. She lowers down into a squatting position and presses her hands to her temples.

She needed to stop. Her head was aching more than she had ever felt it do so before, but she couldn’t rest until she knew what Chloe was so upset about. It was eating away at her. She hated knowing that she was the cause, but not knowing what she did.

She hears a door open and slam shut. Her eyes shoot open and she’s on her feet in a second.

 _That was Chloe’s door_ , she thinks and then she’s out of her room, rushing down the hallway towards the front door.

She sees Chloe fumbling with her keys as she walks briskly towards the exit.

“Chlo,” Beca says desperately. Her heart was breaking. She felt like such an idiot, like such a jerk. “Wait,”

Chloe doesn’t stop moving. Her breath catches in her throat at the sound of Beca behind her, but she can’t face her. Maybe if she just pretends to not hear her best friend, Beca would let it go.

“Please,” Beca tries again.

Chloe’s step falters, but she’s finally reached the door. She opens it quickly and slams it harder than she means to behind her.

Beca stops in her tracks, shocked that Chloe just left. Her mouth hangs open slightly and her throat is immediately dry.

She’s really screwed up. It’s not like Chloe to shut down or shut her out.

“I think you broke Red,” Beca hears Amy say from behind her.

“Fuck off,” Beca replies sharply, feeling the pain a little too much, and storms back off to her room.

She grabs her laptop and slips her headphones over her head. She couldn’t care less about the headache she was having, she needed music. She clicks around until she finds some of the playlists Chloe has made. She clicks on one and lets the music slowly consume her body.

* * *

 

Chloe gets in her car and starts to drive. She hits the radio dial until she finds a station playing decent music and then turns it up almost all the way. Her fingers drum on the steering wheel as she tried to figure out where to go.

Her phone buzzes in the seat next to her. She looks over and sees Aubrey’s name light up her screen. She reaches over, turns the volume down, and then answers her phone.

“Hey,” she says.

“What’s the matter?” her best friend replies immediately. Aubrey knew Chloe too well to not take note of the sadness in her tone. “I thought you would be ecstatic this morning. I’m surprised you answered actually after all the texts you sent me last night.”

“She doesn’t remember,” Chloe tells her quietly. “She doesn’t remember any of it.”

“Oh, Chlo…”

“No, I am trying not to think about it,” Chloe says defiantly. She’s determined to not dwell on her sadness. It would only eat her alive. “What are you up to? Busy day at the lodge?”

“We’re gearing up for the spring rush,” Aubrey answers, gladly changing the subject to make Chloe feel better. “Winter is usually our least busy time, but we’re about to be swamped.”

“Are you swamped right now?”

“Well, no, like I said-”

“I’m coming to visit!” Chloe decides excitedly and hangs up the phone before Aubrey can talk her out of it.

* * *

 

Beca closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She needed to calm down. She was never going to accomplish anything in her frenzied state.

Finally, she decides that if her brain isn’t going to help her, maybe the internet will. She checks all of her social media, her bank account, anything that could lead a trail to what happened the night before.

Nothing shows up except for a tweet that she sent at about two in the morning saying:

**Beca Mitchell  
** **@mecabitchell**

**Life is confusing and overwhelming, and I don’t want to play anymore. Please can I go live in the Great British Bake Off tent please?**

**2:02 AM – 17 Mar 2016**

She squints at the screen and shakes her head in confusion. She can be so weird sometimes. But Chloe likes her weirdness. That’s when Beca sees the reply.

**Chloe Beale  
** **@chlobeale**

**Replying to @mecabitchell**

**It’s not soooo bad. you can come play with me ;)**

**2:10 AM – 17 Mar 2016**

**Beca Mitchell  
** **@mecabitchell**

**Replying to @chlobeale**

**That is one invitation I will gladly accept**

**2:14 AM – 17 Mar 2016**

Beca read over the conversation. This was after they had gotten their tattoos. This was after whatever upset Chloe had happened, so apparently, she had made it better? Now, Chloe was upset because Beca didn’t remember whatever happened. At least that narrowed it down a bit, but not really.

Beca slams her laptop closed and pushes the headphones off so they fall down to her bed. She clenches her jaw tightly as she shuts her eyes. If she could just fill in that little window of time. Just those couple of hours when apparently something significant happened.

She gets up suddenly. She couldn’t sit in her room anymore. She had to get out, like Chloe. She needed to walk down the street and see if anything jogs her memories.

As Beca leaves the apartment, she noticed Amy isn’t on the couch anymore and makes a mental note to maybe apologize to her friend later for being so rude. She then starts down the sidewalk towards the bar they had all visited the night before. 

They like this bar. It was close to home, which meant no one had to worry about getting a ride back. It was usually crowded, but not too crowded. It was perfect. Beca had even DJ’d there a couple of times.

It was closed now. Beca stands in front of its doors, neon sign dull, and stares at the chairs turned up on the tables inside. She presses her face to the glass and cups her hands around her eyes, so she can see in better.

When nothing comes to her, she decides to walk a little further down to the tattoo parlor. She knows Dano will be there, and maybe he can help.

The bell jingles on the door as Beca pushes it open. Dano is working on a different client but looks up and greets the brunette with a smile.

“I hope you’re not here for a refund,” Dano jokes as he stops his work.

“No,” Beca smirks. “I really like it.”

“Really? It doesn’t exactly scream ‘Beca’ to me.”

“No,”

“But it screams Chloe, right?” Dano grins.

“What?” Beca asks. Her brows furrow as she thinks about it.

“Yeah, you said you wanted it because Chloe is your sunshine.”

Beca thinks back to the night before and looks around the parlor. Then it hits her.

_“Sunshine, you’re sunshine,”_

_“I want sunshine on my body.”_

“Fuck,” Beca mumbles under her breathe. “Did anything else happen?” she asks Dano eagerly. This whole ‘retracing her steps’ thing was working.

“You told her she was beautiful,” Dano nodded. “Seemed like something she had been hoping to hear for a long time,” he chuckles like only an oblivious man could.

Beca didn’t understand. She tells Chloe she’s beautiful all the time because it’s true. Chloe’s the most beautiful human being, inside and out, on the planet.

“Let me guess, you don’t remember any of this,” Dano speaks up again. Beca nods slightly but then turns to leave. “Bye then!”

She had to find Chloe. Maybe she had enough information now to get the redhead to divulge her in the rest.

Beca pushes the door open and the air hits her hard. The wind makes her have to push harder on the door. Once she stumbles out, everything comes crashing back to her.

_“Chlo, please.”_

_“Say it again,”_

_“I love you, Becs,”_

Beca righted herself as the memories came flooding back. Her eyes widened, her heartbeat quickened, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Shit,” Beca exhales as she lets her fingertips rest on her lips.


	5. Get the Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca is determined to get the girl, and this time she'll remember it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the ending is what you all hoped for! Thank you all so much for the support throughout this fic! I'll be posting more (probably one-shots) pretty regularly I hope. Follow me on Tumblr @vortexofentertainment. Leave a prompt and I'll see what I can do with it! Thanks, lovelies!
> 
> xoxo

“CHLOE?” Beca yells as she bursts through the door to their apartment She knew the chances of the redhead being back were slim, but she had to at least hope. “CHLO!”

Beca hears rustling in the kitchen like someone is rummaging through the fridge. She takes off quickly but only finds Amy standing up straight with the carton of milk.

“She’s not coming home tonight,” Amy says as she closes the refrigerator door.

“What? What do you mean?” Beca asks as panic rises in her chest.

“She texted me and said she was staying with a friend,” Amy goes on. She puts an empty bowl down to the counter and starts to reach for her favorite cereal.

It takes Beca all of two seconds to figure out what that means.

“Fucking, Posen,” Beca mumbles as she pulls her phone out where she types out a quick message.

**Beca:** is she there?

**Aubrey:** I am not at liberty to say.

“Amy,” Beca says sharply, startling her friend. “I need a ride to the Lodge of Fallen Leaves.”

* * *

 

Chloe steps out of the bathroom, feeling better after a nice shower, just as Aubrey sets her phone facedown beside her on the couch. Chloe can tell by her face that something was up.

“Was that Beca?” Chloe asks.

“Yes,” Aubrey answers truthfully. She saw no reason to lie to Chloe, they knew each other too well for that.

Chloe wasn’t sure what to say.

On one hand, she knew she was maybe overreacting. Beca was pretty drunk after all. She knew she shouldn’t have let her get that tattoo. She shouldn’t have let her kiss her.

“Is she coming?” she finds herself asking.

“I don’t know, I didn’t tell her you were here.”

“She knows I’m here,” Chloe mumbles.

Aubrey didn’t say anything. Instead, she just watches Chloe. She had watched her best friend struggle with the one sided love story she had been a part of the last five years. She was skeptic, but happy, when Chloe called the night before almost in hysterics from her happiness.

Chloe sits down next to Aubrey, letting her head rest on the blonde’s shoulder.

“I just had to get out of there,” Chloe says quietly. She hadn’t told Aubrey the full story, just the necessary details for her to get the idea.

 “Do you want to talk about it?” Aubrey asks.

“No,” Chloe answers. She really didn’t. She just wanted to forget everything, at least for a little while.

“I can set up a booby trap outside of my door in case she shows up,” Aubrey offers. Chloe’s not sure whether or not she’s joking, but she can’t help but laugh anyway.

“I doubt she’ll show up,” Chloe tells her.

A part of her hoped Beca would, but another part just wanted her to leave it be. Maybe it would be easier on Chloe for once if she did.

* * *

 

Beca walks right up to Aubrey’s door and pounds as hard as she can. She doesn’t care that it was getting late. It wasn’t her fault Amy took forver to drive her here.

A shuffling on the other side of the door makes her stop cursing under her breath as she waits in the cold.

Chloe opens the door, stopping as soon as she sees Beca’s small frame with her arms tucked around her torso for warmth.

“You can’t just run away,” Beca says sternly as she walks in past Chloe.

“You’re one to talk,” Chloe replies swiftly. She tries to shut the door, but instead just kind of hits Amy with it on her way in.

“Hey, watch it!” the blonde says, a little hurt she wasn’t noticed. “I know you only have eyes for Beca, but sheesh,” she goes on, rubbing her elbow as she walks past Chloe.

Chloe sticks her head out just to make sure that was everyone before finally closing the door.

“What are you doing here?” Aubrey asks as she comes out of her bedroom. Chloe had been asleep, well trying to sleep, on the couch.

“I need to talk to Chloe,” Beca says without hesitation. She had psyched herself up for this. She was ready. Her adrenaline was pumping and she knew what she had to do. “Alone.”

“I’m not so sure that’s a good-“ Aubrey starts but she’s cut off.

“It’ll be fine,” Chloe says looking towards the two blondes that were now standing off to the side together. Fat Amy nudges Aubrey with her elbow and the two disappeared back into Aubrey’s room.

“What _are_ you doing here?” Chloe asks, turning back to face Beca. After all the time that had passed since she left and now, she was starting to doubt that Beca would show up.

“I love you,” Beca blurts out. That was defintily not how she had practiced.

Chloe’s heart soared. She lets herself feel elated for a split second before she locking it back down. Beca could be talking about loving her as a friend. She couldn’t bear to get her hopes up just to be let down again.

“That’s not how I was going to say that,” Beca mumbles. “I had this whole speech planned out, it was good by the way, and now…” she trails off as Chloe just stares at her. Those blue eyes were enough to build her courage back up. “Now, I’m standing here looking at you and thinking about how much of an idiot I was to not remember what happened last night, for letting myself get that drunk.”

Chloe’s hope starts to steadily rise.

“I’m also standing here, thinking about how stupid it was of me to not say it back,” Beca goes on. She takes a few steps closer to Chloe who was beginning to let her defences down. “And I’m thinking that I should have woken up to you this morning, and that I want to wake up to you every morning because I’m so fucking in love with you, Chloe Beale.”

Chloe doesn’t hesitate. She’s in Beca’s arms, lips pressed against the brunette’s, in a second. The kiss was just as she remembered it, or maybe even better. Without the alcohol clouding her sensese, she seemed to just feel everything _more_.

Beca lets her hand travel to the base of Chloe’s skull where she tangles her fingers into red locks. She needs Chloe to be closer to her. She needs to feel her everywhere. Her heart’s beating hard in her chest, but she doesn’t care whether it explodes or not. She was sure that she could die right then and be the happiest person on the planet.

Beca feels Chloe’s tongues swipe her bottom lip and doesn’t hesitate to give her access. The kiss deepens and it takes every fiber of Beca’s being not to push Chloe down onto the coach and crawl on top of her.

It was like she wanted to make up for the years she had missed. She wanted to take Chloe in her arms and not let go for as long as she possibly could. She needed to make things right, and she felt like she was doing a pretty good job of that. But she knew she would spend forever making up for it if she could. She wold spend forever doing anything Chloe wanted her to do.

Chloe slides her hands up Beca’s body until they’re resting on each side of her jaw. She scratches lightly at the back of the brunette’s neck, pulling a quiet moan from her lips.

“You two will NOT be christening this living room or anywhere else in this house,” Aubrey says sternly from her room, breaking the two girls apart. They hadn’t heard their two friends return.

“Bhloe is finally happening!” Fat Amy says loudly as she holds her hands up in the air in victory.

Beca smiles and looked at Chloe who’s already looking back at her. Their bodies remain pressed together as Chloe smiles and leans in close to brush her lips against Beca’s gently.

“I love you, my rain cloud,” she says quietly before closing the distance and sinking into another kiss, not caring who was watching.


End file.
